Chapter 1016: The Great Huckster Goes Online

The worst thing about life is enjoying the comfort of laziness while greedily demanding more decadence. The more you want a good life, the more you must first taste the bitterness of life before you can have sweetness. Yet, living each day in ease and drowsiness is the most common state for the vast majority of people.

In such circumstances, sometimes hope is a very beautiful thing.

And what Zhao Fusheng brought to the People's Art Theatre this time was hope.

"Teacher Yang, I won't beat around the bush," Bai Jie said calmly, looking at Yang Lixin. "The People's Art Theatre has the actors we need, and Future Film has the funds you need. I think we can have a long-term cooperation."

Yang Lixin glanced at Bai Jie in surprise. He had originally thought Zhao Fusheng would be the one to negotiate with him, but this guy had been looking around since arriving at the theatre without saying a word.

"Cooperation is no problem, but regarding compensation..." Yang Lixin looked at Zhao Fusheng, then asked Bai Jie.

Bai Jie smiled slightly. "Please rest assured, we'll follow market rates. For every performance you put on, we'll settle the wages on the spot."

This was what Zhao Fusheng had agreed with her beforehand.

No matter when, real money placed before one's eyes is what truly moves people's hearts.

No matter how many verbal promises are made, if the money isn't in hand, many people still harbor deep doubts.

Zhao Fusheng didn't believe that once the People's Art Theatre people got used to receiving substantial pay after each performance, if one day they were told the play would no longer be a stage production but a TV series, those accustomed to their roles would hate acting in TV dramas.

Habits need to be cultivated.

Moreover, such treatment was already very high compensation for the current People's Art Theatre. No one would think making money was a bad thing, especially when earning a living by their own skills.

To put it in more artistic terms, the artists of the People's Art Theatre are also human. Especially in the current environment, they have no right to pity life or negotiate with it. With elders above and children below, the pressure of life means most rely on that meager salary to get by.

But even so, even if life doesn't respect them, they still have to put on bright smiles to bring beautiful memories to the audience.

It must be said that sometimes, though it may seem ridiculous, some people's persistence truly deserves respect.

They say that when middle age comes, one has no choice but to soak goji berries in a thermos.

In fact, sometimes just getting by in life isn't easy either.

Because at that moment, the things you give up are far too many.

Pride, dignity—things that can destroy a middle-aged person are as numerous as the hairs on an ox.

...

...

In the end, the negotiation went smoothly. Both Bai Jie and Yang Lixin were smart people who knew what the other wanted and where the bottom line was, so there wasn't much idle talk. Bai Jie had already had the legal department draft the contract, and today they brought it over, signed on both sides, officially establishing the cooperative relationship.

Yang Lixin hosted a meal for Bai Jie and Zhao Fusheng. After a moment's thought, they agreed.

Regardless, since they were now partners, there would be many days ahead to build rapport, and they had to give the necessary face.

Without inviting anyone else, Yang Lixin asked a few veteran actors from the theatre to accompany them. They sat down at a restaurant near the People's Art Theatre.

The cooperation had already been communicated to these people beforehand, so everyone was naturally happy. After all, there was money to be made, and it was a mainstream script—no one would dislike that.

Being able to earn money legitimately in a way one enjoys is undoubtedly a very happy thing for an actor.

During the meal, Yang Lixin also introduced Zhao Fusheng, mainly mentioning that he was Fan Baobao's boyfriend.

The veteran actors naturally praised him repeatedly. They were all seasoned veterans in the circle, far more skilled in acting and scheming than the younger generation. Even though Zhao Fusheng knew they were just being polite, hearing them praise Fan Baobao still made him feel very pleased.

Being all insiders, they naturally started talking about Future Film being blacklisted.

Speaking of this, Bai Jie naturally had a lot of grievances.

Yang Lixin was very calm and comforted Bai Jie with a smile: "You're just starting out, President Bai. You might not believe it, but once the movie is made, there are even more sordid things waiting for you."

Bai Jie was startled and looked at Yang Lixin in surprise.

Even Zhao Fusheng was surprised; he really didn't know about these things.

Yang Lixin exchanged glances with the old-timers, pursed his lips, and still spoke: "For example, after your movie is made, you have to send it to the theater chains, right?"

"Of course," Bai Jie and Zhao Fusheng both nodded. They understood that much.

"That's the problem. The theater chains have a promotional meeting where all the theater managers are present. As the producer and investor, if you don't treat these theater managers well, you won't get screenings. Not just you, even the big directors—if they don't drink, no screenings. Who dares not to drink?"

"Is that... really true?" Bai Jie was somewhat surprised, and Zhao Fusheng was also quite astonished. Previously, Ye Jing had handled the distribution, and they hadn't realized there was so much involved.

Yang Lixin sighed: "When I first learned about this, I felt very bitter. Whether a director or an actor, the final work should be judged by the audience, not by some other random people. But if you want to show your good work to the audience, there are too many processes to go through. Often, the number of screenings or the release date determines the success or failure of a film..."

"But there's no way around it; that's reality," Yang Lixin said with a wry smile.

The others naturally chimed in with various anecdotes from the circle. Without exception, they were dissatisfied with the bizarre state of the entertainment industry but felt helpless.

This is probably the saddest thing about being a true actor.

Zhao Fusheng listened, occasionally interjecting with words of comfort, but silently sighed in his heart.

These people probably didn't know that in a decade or so, the film and television circle would be even more chaotic and lamentable than it is now.

Perhaps in their hearts, they always held a beautiful wish for the future, hoping the circle would get better. But in fact, as the economy developed and the market expanded, the circle became more and more chaotic.

Of course, that had nothing to do with Zhao Fusheng. He just needed to protect his own precious cabbage.

Moreover, during this Spring Festival trip home, both his parents and Li Yuan had hinted that he and Fan Baobao should have a child soon.

In other words, the elders believed that if Fan Baobao didn't have a child before thirty, it would be an unforgivable sin.

Well, no problem.

Zhao Fusheng thought so too.

...

...

After the meal, they saw the old gentlemen back to the People's Art Theatre, and then Zhao Fusheng and Bai Jie left by car.

"All of them are shrewd old foxes."

Sitting in the car, Zhao Fusheng remarked.

"Yeah, after all, they've been in the game for decades," Bai Jie replied with a smile.

To be honest, both of them had seen through Yang Lixin's intention today—it was nothing more than hoping Future Film would pay more attention.

At the root of it all was money.

For Future Film, if money could solve the problem, then it wasn't a problem at all.

"Since they lack money, let's show our sincerity more clearly, understand?" Zhao Fusheng said to Bai Jie with a smile.

Bai Jie nodded: "I know, I'll make sure they're satisfied."

Under the current circumstances, Future Film didn't have many suitable partners, and the People's Art Theatre was undoubtedly the most fitting. Naturally, they had to seize the opportunity.

As for other matters, they were temporarily beyond Zhao Fusheng's consideration.

"By the way, what about the movie?" Bai Jie asked Zhao Fusheng worriedly.

Earlier, she had been responsible for contacting Stephen Chow, but he had completely ignored their invitation. That Mr. Chow didn't seem interested in developing the mainland market.

So she had reported the matter to Zhao Fusheng, hoping he could find a solution.

Now it seemed Zhao Fusheng didn't have a better idea either.

"What, finding it difficult?" Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Bai Jie. "Now you know what kind of person Stephen Chow is, right?"

It had to be admitted that in many people's minds, Stephen Chow represented countless classic films.

But that was the films, not the man himself.

In other words, conflating the work with the actor personally was undoubtedly a very foolish thing.

"To be honest, I really didn't expect this," Bai Jie said with a bitter smile.

She had originally thought communicating with him would be easy, but unexpectedly, there was no response from that side at all.

Not a refusal, but no reply. No matter what method of contact, everything sank like a stone into the sea.

"Stephen Chow is actually very quiet in private," Zhao Fusheng said. "He's not deliberately targeting us, but he doesn't know much about the mainland market. His style has always been that unless necessary, he won't easily try anything new. His movies are funny, but you have to understand that in private, he's not funny at all."

Bai Jie looked thoughtful. It seemed Zhao Fusheng's words gave her a vague understanding of something.

Zhao Fusheng didn't say more and waved his hand: "You don't need to worry about this. I've already asked someone to help make the connection. I believe soon, Stephen Chow's side will give us a reply."

"Really?" Bai Jie was startled, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Zhao Fusheng in surprise. "You asked for help?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "I have friends too, you know?"

Bai Jie looked at him suspiciously. She felt that the friend Zhao Fusheng had asked for help was no ordinary person.